Cheryl Olsson, Surrey, won 1st place in the Art Depiction of Human or Animal Form category with Pugsley is a Girl.
Cheryl says, “Pugsley went to visit Grandma two years ago. Then the pandemic locked everything down and we were unable to visit or bring her home. It’s now too late. Pugsley and Grandma have helped each other survive. Now her likeness hangs on the wall for us to say hello to everyday. I was inspired to try Susan Carlson’s collage techniques with my own photo after reading her book “Serendipity Quilts” and seeing her beautiful quilts.”
Techniques and Materials: Raw edge appliqué; collage. Cotton, tulle, rhinestones. Quilting: Self quilted on a frameless machine.
Lorna Shapiro, Vancouver, won first place in the Modern category with Circles and Stripes.
Lorna says, “I played improvisationally with just two guiding themes: a palette of fabric chosen by my daughter and exploring circles. Blocks started to emerge as I settled into the fun of playing with no pre-determined end goal in mind. The blocks were so pleasing that they wanted to become a bed quilt. The palette for this quilt’s foreground was chosen by my daughter. Her choice inspired me to create a design riffing off the palette itself. The quilting created in the background further developed the pieced design, adding an important element to the original design work.”
Techniques and Materials: Machine piecing. Cotton-linen, printed linen, woven cotton, printed cotton. Quilting: Quilted on a framed machine by Laura Gates
Laura Gates, Delta, took home the Excellence Award for Machine Quilting Framed with Pink Blossoming Garden.
From Laura, “I was captivated by this modern floral blossom pattern. I chose a bright colour palette of solids and prints for the Blossoming Garden pattern by Carolyn Murfitt of Free Bird Quilting Designs.”
Techniques and Materials: Fusible appliqué; machine piecing. Cotton. Quilting: Self quilted on a framed machine using a stitch regulator, free motion and ruler work.
Laura also won second place in the Modern category with Tsuru.
She explains, “An assortment of Japanese fabrics frame this Vancouver street banner designed by Norman Takeuchi depicting the Japanese internment in WWII in British Columbia. “Tsuru” is named after my grandmother and is dedicated to the courage and determination of all who endured the incredible hardships of the internment. The banner, silkscreened on nylon, is one of four in Norman Takeuchi’s 2007 Vancouver Street Banner Project, depicting the Japanese internment of the 1940’s.”
Techniques and Materials: Machine pieced. Cotton fabrics, nylon banner. Quilting: Self quilted on a framed machine using a stitch regulator, combining straight line ruler work and free motion stitching.
And Laura also took home third place in the Modern category with Rock Star.
She says, “Being an avid curling fan I was eager for an opportunity to bring two passions together. Inspired by Audrey Esarey’s “Radial Quilt” and techniques from Lisa O’Neill’s book Silver Quilts, my design is a FPP curling ring that I created for my husband who loves the game. I began this project by drafting a full scale pattern on paper taped to the wall and made a template for each piece. The large rings were paper pieced and for the curling rocks I used an inset circle technique from a Lorna Shapiro workshop. I chose a modern quilting design with a combination of straight line ruler work and free motion stitching. Designed on an iPad using the Procreate app and pieced with Kona and Northcott fabrics.”
Techniques and Materials: Machine piecing; paper piecing. Cotton. Quilting: Self quilted on a framed machine with a stitch regulator and rulers.